“That doesn't necessarily mean he'll join them, but now we know what the player wants and are aware of his intentions.”

Sanchez had declared he was still too young to make such a big move and wanted another season in Serie A, but seems to have changed his mind when European Champions Barca stepped in.

“We hope to finalise everything for the good of the lad, but I don't think this sort of operation can be concluded before the end of June.

“We have no objections in talking to Barca, but negotiations are only at the beginning. If they pay for what is his true worth, then there won't be any problems.

“Barcelona are the favourites, then there are Juventus and Inter. These are the three clubs in the race for Sanchez. We are optimistic a sale can go through and will obviously take the player's preference into account.”

It was reported this week that Barca had offered €30m plus the loan of Spain international talent Bojan Krkic.